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. T ° . M ^ b to ^ ai ^ v ^ M ^ lv M ^ to G 1 ^? thouzh e its clearness ana activity will not alone form its vigour . reat powers of intellect are sometimes enfie ^ d ^^^ tif ^ pbWicsi ] and theological . The rttvtasbrcffi } Jfaffl& 4 ^ y&ihivh " iremarksame , ry ? c 3 , paW § iu 3 ge ^ n < f < iGi Abe
^? lfaei ^ e | i ^ aB ^ 6 ag ^^ t ^ rofo ^ understanding , and fi » * the justossHmd QfttW ^ s M ^^^ M ^ M ^ i P ^ JSgar 4 tpi those subjectrwbjeh , be permktw h& ^ i&to ^ aj ^^ there-werei . subjects concejni&g wMchfh ^ Ji ^ l %$$ [§ & £ tpf ^ hinkf fir ^ efer , and these were ; subject ^ of the utmost ugj ^ ftanceiv ' / r , ^ ^ on the most momentous con- * f ^^ sp | Mf ^ gi ^ pij ^ ii 4 igQv ^ ri ^ eiiVj < : and hence he remained through life the slaveLof illiberal and contemptible prejudices . " *
A mind ot & £ first order in point of the strength of its talents , will be superior to vanity , arrogance , literary jealousies and envy , and the influence of malignant , corrupt , and corroding passions . It will seek and obtain , like Milton's * its resources within itself : its possessor , like Milton , will be " calm and confident , little disappointed , " amidst apparent or real neglect , " not at all dejected , relying on his own merit with steady consciousness ,
and waiting without impatience the vicissitudes of opinion , and the impartiality of a futwe generation . "f The tranquillity , the usefulness , the reputation of such men as Lord Bacon , Dryden , Pope , Swift , Bentley , Warburton , Churchill , and Byron , had been well consulted , if the factions , the intrigues , and , as to some of them , the profligacy of the age , had not been suffered to interfere with the enlightened and manly exercise of their characteristic energies of mind .
Considerable force of intellect is seldom , if ever , unaccompanied by a delicate sense of the nature and shades of evidence , and by a superior power of abstraction ; habits these of more than ordinary value among qualities exclusively mental ! Men of feeble and contracted faculties are prone to confound one class of proofs with another : and hence they sometimes doubt and sometimes believe without , and even against , reason . These men , too ,
do not accustom themselves to the labour of generalizing and arranging the subjects of their knowledge and reflection : their facts are insulated , their ideas disjointed . Did not the discipline of Porson ' s younger days , and the favourite studies of the whole of Sir IsaTic Newton ? s protracted life , greatly contribute to make both of them eminent judges and masters of reasoning , even beyond their chosen departments of literature and science ? N .
for his generous feelings , his benevolent actions and character , his warm regard for the welfare of mankind aud of his country , his intrepidity in vindicating traduced and injured worth , ( especially the calumniated Priestley , himself the example of a highly vigorous mind , ) his very extraordinary attainments in ancient literature , the compass , depth and accuracy of his information , and his powers of quick perception , retentive grasp , and forcible expression . It might have been happy if he had retained . less of the manners and spirit of his original profession , had in a less degree valued ancj received the incense of flattery , and been less studious of pouring out aU his stores of reading . His " Spital Sermon" fails in perspicuity and discrimination : hft Y < Letter to the Dissenters of Birmingham" exhibits his intellectual vigour in the fcnrestriight .
# Dr . Kippis , MS . Lectures . t Tphifll fine picture is drawn by Dr . Johnson , whose injustice to our great poet cannot , ^ however , Jbe forgotten . i- 1 ' '
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732 Euay on Intellectual Vigour .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1828, page 732, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2566/page/4/
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